Olympic fairytale

25-08-07

When the train glides into the Innsbruck station, the stunning Alpine scenery dominates the landscape with mountains surrounding the area.

The first thing I strived to do after checking into my hotel was to go up to the peak of the Alps and get a stunning view. I had a hard time finding the bus that takes you to Nordpark, but I did discover the Congress Innsbruck which was build around 1629-1632 by Archduke Leopold V. It became the first self-supporting opera house north of the Alps. It was transformed into a toll-house in the 19^th century, but was destroyed during World War II. In 1973, it was rebuilt and enlarged as a contemporary center.

I took a trip to Nordpark in the northern part of the area to get a panoramic of Innsbruck and its surrounding holiday villages in the Tyrol as this part of the Alps is called, and I could see over 400 Alpine peaks which included the Stubaital, Otztal, Zillertal, Karwendel, and the Grossglockner at a height of 2260 meters. In the Grossglockner, I could see the highest bridge in Europe. The view was surreal and some of the mountains had snow at their summit. The green summer alpine scenery reminded me of Johanna Spry’s novel Heidi especially with the sheep gnawing on grass and the cows languidly lying on their bellies with their brass bells ringing whenever they moved around. Three of the sheep must have taken a liking to my camera because they started pursuing me.

Innsbruck with its beautiful mountains hosted the Winter Olympics twice in 1964 and 1976. In 1964, they didn’t have enough snow in the Alps, so they imported gigantic blocks of ice and the Austrian Military packed the mountains with them. The games were a success unless you were an American fan as the United States won just one gold medal. Thus, when Denver had to cancel as host of the 1976 Winter games because they ran into enormous debt, Innsbruck was slated to host the Olympics for a second time. The 1976 Winter Olympics will always be identified with Austria’s native son Franz Klammer’s daring and dangerous run down the Alps to capture a gold medal in the men’s downhill. Klammer was skidding on the edge of his skis seemingly destined to lose his balance and crash as he sought make up a time deficit, but he cruised to glory. Not surprisingly, Klammer became a national hero in ski-mad Austria.

I stopped at the Olympia Eisstadion where the Tivoli Stadium sits - this is where the opening and closing ceremonies took place and now it is a soccer stadium. The arena nearby is where the figure skating and speed skating took place. In 1976, American figure skater Dorothy Hamill won the gold medal here, but her wedge hairstyle may be more famous. For the United States, Hamill’s victory signified that the American figure skating team was back. In 1961, the entire figure skating team was killed in an airplane crash en route to the World Championships in Prague. Peggy Fleming won gold in Grenoble while Hamill’s victory ensured that American figure skating was strong.

I went to the historic old town and went to the Stadtturm to climb the tower which has a 16^th-century spherical cupola. The view from the tower was surreal as it allowed me to peer over the roofs of the city and see the Alps.

At the Goldenes Dachl, there was an Emperor Maximilian festival with dancing which occurs nightly. The dancers were wearing traditional Alpine clothing with wool dresses and wooden buttons; they were indeed a delight to watch. The Goldenes Dachl was constructed by Friedrich IV in 1420 and it became the dwelling of the sovereigns in Tyrol. Emperor Maximilian added to the building in 1500 by placing a lanai with 2738 copper tiles over a window. There are also frescos as well as coat-in-arms and reliefs.

Never Forget

24-08-07 Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Amidst a beautiful green valley that was once a Roman trade route, is a living testament to the human viciousness that existed in the concentration camp Mauthausen. One of the most striking sights as one takes the walk down the hummock to the gate of the camp is of all the memorials of various nations and ethnic identities that have been consecrated over the years. The Holocaust is usually identified with the six million Jews that were slaughtered by the Nazis, but Mauthausen is a vivid reminder that the Nazis also killed gypsies, gays, political enemies like communists, and the mentally-ill. Of the 105,000-110,000 people who were murdered at Mauthausen, 40,000 were Jewish.

The Nazis began, almost immediately after they invaded Austria in March,1938, looking for suitable locations to set up concentration camps. Himmler and Pohl examined Mauthausen and the construction of the camp began in August of 1938 when the initial wave of prisoners came. Heydrich declared in January of 1941 that the camp should only take prisoners that were “highly criminal and incorrigible” while around the same time, Mauthausen was given a classification of III, the worst rating that a camp could receive which meant that prisoners should be exterminated. The inmates were barely fed, only receiving 1400 kilocalories a day and by the end of the war that had dropped to about 500-600 per day while they were forced to work, on average, 11 hours daily. Those who were unfit to work were executed by being shot or by being tortured to death- an example being frozen to death under an ice-cold shower during the winter.

The first foreign prisoners were Poles who arrived in March of 1940. The Polish prisoners were usually intellectuals that defied the Nazis. Over 7,000 Republican Spaniards were deported to Mauthausen- they had fought against the Spanish dictator Franco’s troops. From 1940 to 1942, there were 4000 Czech and 2000 Dutch Jews that were expatriated here. Additionally, 5300 Soviet prisoners of war were deported here as the Nazis sought to eradicate communists.

Four women fighters were brought to Mauthausen in April of 1942 marking the first time that females had come to this camp. The four women were shot on April 20^th along with 46 men to commemorate Hitler’s birthday. In October of 1942, 142 Czech women were grotesquely gassed in response for the Heydrich assassination in Prague. In all, over 8,000 women came to Mauthausen.

The first Jewish prisoner to be interned at Mauthuasen was in September of 1939. Over 30,000 Hungarian Jews were sent to Mauthausen in 1945.

The white barracks where the prisoners resided were unfortunately closed for observation. Hundreds of detainees were forced to live in these crowded living spaces with the windows closed in the summer while opened in the winter to make living conditions more miserable.

The most sobering part of the camp was the sick quarter which is where the crematorium, gas chamber, and execution corner are. The crematorium has become a memorial shrine to remember those who perished at the camp. There are various photos and plagues that dominate the room while an Israeli flag hangs by the entrance to the oven.

The gas chamber is where the Zyklon B systematically poisoned the detainees to death in a faux shower room. It began operation in May of 1942 when 208 Soviet prisoners of war were gassed. Over 10,000 people were gassed here including many Austrians, as the Nazis wanted to ensure that the Allies couldn’t find people that could aid in the rebuilding of Austria after the war. There was a plaque that has four names and but only three photos of men that succumbed here. There are only three photos because one of the photos was removed and replaced with a scratched swastika. The tour guide said that Nazi vandalism is not uncommon and that there are derogatory comments written by neo-Nazis found in the guest book every couple of weeks.

The execution corner was where prisoners stood in a corner resting their heads on a measuring board before a Nazi shot them through the neck. Hangings were also performed here. The oil used in the crematorium was stored here as well.

Still Alive, an autobiography by Professor of German at the University of California, Irvine Ruth Kluger deals with the author growing up in Vienna and her subsequent deportation along with her mother to Theresienstadt and then the death camp of Auschwitz. Both she and her mother remarkably survived the camps and only escaped along with her schoolmate friend Susi during the forced march of prisoners before the advancing Russian army. The story continues with post war life in a displaced persons camp in Germany and finally immigration to New York. She attended Hunter College. And here the story basically comes to an end – we infer that she had an unhappy marriage and had two sons. Only the remaining years of her mother are discussed in any detail.

The book has a number of agendas, not all of them admirable. Kluger was a member of the first generation of Jewish middle class girls to receive a decent, secular education. Previously Jewish women, although supposedly revered in religious literature, were basically no more than servants to their husbands. With the advents of the 1930’s, the situation changed and girls could attend Viennese public schools.

A second agenda item was the disturbed family relationships she encountered. Her mother had an unfortunate first marriage and had to leave her son in Prague- we are not informed why. She remarried again this time to Ruth’s father, a doctor. Apparently, Ruth had a turbulent relationship with both her overbearing mother and a father who, at least maltreated her – the details are not provided. Her father had to flee Vienna to Italy after performing an abortion. He later went to France, was caught and sent to his death by the Nazis.

The third topic discussed is life in the concentration camps. It is in this context that the story takes on a strange aspect. Kluger feels it necessary to point out that whereas male camp officials were brutal – one slugged her in the head even though she was only 15 years old – the women camp attendants were not. This must come as a surprise to war crime prosecutors who indicted numerous women guards. But then Kluger goes on to remark, twice in her book for emphasis that in the gas chambers in Auschwitz men clawed their way to the top of the chamber over women and children. Kluger could not have witnessed this. The sondercommandos who loaded and emptied gas chambers were always killed after their tour of duty ended – on the order of months. The members were always men. So how did Kluger find out this amazing fact? And furthermore, let’s assume that she is right. Does she know who composed the other layers of victims? Were grown women just below the men and children at the bottom? Are we to believe that the Darwinism of asphyxiation can be defeated by morality?

Another interesting topic deals with post war attitudes among German intelligentsia whom she worked with at Princeton University and during her summers in Goettingen. Some are revealed as insensitive and uncaring.

Finally the difficulties Kluger had with her mother, who both saved her life by telling her to lie about her age to either Dr. Mengele or his henchmen and yet tormented by her mother’s domineering behavior towards her. This conflict looms equally as large as her experiences in the concentration camps. And in so doing, diminishes the horrors of the Holocaust to almost a secondary story. Her book has value as the story of an indomitable spirit, a person who is proud of her Jewish heritage, but one whose is tormented by personal anguish.

Dr. Leopold's masterpiece

23-07-07 Vienna

The Leopold Museum situated in the Museum Quarter is the product of the private collection of Dr. and Mrs. Rudolf Leopold who have collected thousands of Austrian art works over the last half-century. The state built a grand contemporary building with stunning views from the top of the city. There are glass floors that allow a patron to see the floors underneath. The core collection is based on the works of the Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele.

The HBO production Murders Among Us was collaboration with the famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal based on his autobiography. Wiesenthal had previously turned down several offers to film his life story, but fortunately he allowed the genial Ben Kingsley to portray him which he did admirably. Wiesenthal- a survivor of Mauthausen nixed his plans to be an architect and devoted his life to achieving justice by pursing Nazis war criminals. The film takes a personal approach to understanding the life of Wiesenthal. He thought about committing suicide only to realize that it would be a triumph of Nazi ideology. It also strained his family life especially his relationship with his wife who did not approve of him being a Nazi hunter; his daughter faced anti-Semitism in school including a denial of the Holocaust. In 1982, Wiesenthal’s apartment in Vienna was bombed.

Arguably the most controversial aspect of Wiesenthal’s life was the Adolph Eichmann affair. In his autobiography, Wiesenthal took some credit for capturing Eichmann- the head of the S.S. section for Jewish deportations. This was a claim that was refuted by the Israelis who alleged that the Mossad- their secret service had done the work that had led to the kidnapping of Eichmann in Argentina. The film script has Wiesenthal stating that the Israelis did it, but he was proud to have aided them.

The most poignant scene in the film was the Franz Murer trial. Murer- known as the “butcher of Vilna” was condemned to a Russian labor camp in large part due to the evidence that was collected by Wiesenthal, but he was freed after only seven years and became an esteemed politician in Austria. An outraged Wiesenthal protested and had to put together a new case and evidence against the war criminal, but Murer was found innocent on all 17 counts. This scene was significant because it addressed the anti-Semitism and lack of responsibility undertaken by Austria in addressing their collaborations with and support for the Nazis. Austria even elected an ex-Nazi Kurt Waldheim as their Prime Minister.

Wiesenthal recently passed away in September of 2005 at the age of 96 in Vienna, but chose to be buried in Herzilia, Israel. Israel was in the process of a bitter disengagement from the Gaza strip that polarized their nation, but for one day, the Jewish state paused to remember this great man.

A swell way to spend 14 Euros

IMG_6122, originally uploaded by bratislavadavis.

22-07-07

The Slovakian capital of Bratislava is a mere hour away from Vienna at a cost of 14 Euros. I went with Professor Kathy and Louise and had a great time. The cab driver must be a master of picking up people from the train station as he was a tour guide showing all the historic sites and he even showed us pictures from a book. It was entertaining, but also easily the most expensive expense in Bratislava as it cost about ten dollars for a ten minute jaunt into the city. The food is noticeably cheaper as Slovakia is still on the crown until the conversion to the Euro in 2010. I paid what amounted to about six U.S. dollars for my meal. I had chicken with mozzarella cheese and peaches along with a brewed Czech beer which was excellent.

After lunch, we walked around the Old Town seeing the historic buildings in the main square and a couple of historic plaques memorializing the famous Hungarian composer Bela Bartok who grew up here and had his musical training and also a commemorative inscription to Mozart who gave a concert here at the tender age of six.

We were walking on our way to the castle when we saw a Jewish museum which was closed and also looked vacant. The castle was closed, which meant we couldn't visit the royal museum which includes a hockey hall of fame. But it afforded a nice view of the city especially of the graceful cable-stay bridge that crosses over the Danube River. On the hill, there were lots of cute cats gnawing on meat to the delight of Kathy and Louise. After we were done with the cats, we discovered about 20 naked iron, robot-like statues- an interesting expression of modernism. There was a park nearby, so we relaxed on the soft grass for 30 minutes.

Something that struck me was how friendly the people of Bratislava are as they are gregarious, warm, and friendly. They were willing to stop and help and give us directions and invited us to dinner with them. Their hospitality was a trait that the Viennese could use.

We trekked down from the castle and went back into the historic center of the city, where we saw some interesting sculptures, walked into a couple of churches, and just walked around. We had some wine at a local café, which was excellent and surrounded by natives instead of tourists. I remember that a glass of wine went for just over one dollar. It felt refreshing and relaxing to sit down in the heart of the Old Town and just talk.

On the way to the train station, we passed by the Primate's Palace which is a neo-Classical structure in Old Town built in 1781 for Archbishop Jozsef Batthyany. Inside, there is supposed to be a wonderful hall of mirrors where the fourth Peace of Pressburg was signed by Napoleon and Francis II - the Holy Roman emperor- in 1805 ending the War of the Third Coalition. The city purchased the Palace in 1903 and it serves now as the mayor's office. There are some beautiful flower gardens in front of the Primate's Palace along with a fountain.

The enlightened Joseph II

IMG_6072, originally uploaded by bratislavadavis.

21-08-07

The German Word of the day Dieser Wein ist suess. Mmmmm!

The death of the enlightened reformer Joseph II in 1790 would leave Austria in shambled turmoil for the next generation. Leopold II - the brother of Joseph passed away unexpectedly in 1792 leaving the throne to Franz the brother of Marie Antoinette of France who was beheaded during the French revolution. The new ruler had two titles- he was known as Franz II- the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire and Franz I- Emperor of Austria.

Lehne and Johnson speculated in their book, Vienna: The Past in the Present, that Franz had inhibitions about a revolt occurring in Austria especially after the tragic fate of his sister. This led to an anxiety-filled reign with no ambitious plans. He aimed to stop the construction of factories in Vienna by ruling that they must be built outside the city-limits while supporting small businesses such as agriculture that didn’t threaten change. Franz despised intellectualism viewing it as dangerous and accepted mediocrity that did not threaten change.
Not surprisingly, Franz was despised by intellectuals, but the blue-collar constituents of Vienna viewed him as their protector calling him, “the good Kaiser Franz”

But it was the mêlées with Napoleon over a period of 20 years that defined the Franz reign with the French invading Vienna twice in 1805 and 1809 with much of the city barraged. A stunning defeat at Waterloo led to the fall of Napoleon and the liberation of Austria. Although much of Europe would be restored after the Congress of Vienna- the enlightenment movement would forever change the political and cultural face of the continent. Intellectualism became more prominent as people rendezvoused in coffee shops and cafes in Vienna and salons questioning the state of politics especially absolute power and monarchy. The arts began to take an increasing intellectual approach and play a more prominent role in society.

Biedermeier refers to the culture of the intellectuals in society from about 1815-1848. One of the most prominent means for an intellectual to show off during the Biedermeier era was through the lavish furniture as seen in the MAK museum which I visited today. The jewel of the Biedermeirer collection at the MAK is a red sofa with rather-simple curvy wooden frames to support it, but the wood was extremely high-quality. Also, homes often had Lobmeyer glass - a fine art glass.

The MAK museum was the first museum in Vienna that I did not enjoy at all. There were museums like the Mozart Haus that were disappointing, but I got something out of it. I felt like I had to have a background on furniture to appreciate the art of Biedermeier furniture.

I took the metro to the Schonbrunn palace and gardens which I really enjoyed. At the top of the hill, there is a beautiful view of the city, but also two architectural masterpieces worth nothing. The Neptune fountain carved in 1780 by Franz Anton Zauner who also developed the Josephplatz in the heart of Vienna. The white Gloriette is a neo-classical structure designed by Ferdinand von Hobenberg in 1775 designed primarily as an observation point to the lovely gardens on the peak of the knoll, but it was also a popular place to dine. The Gloriette was damaged during World War II and was rebuilt.

The palace was designed by Johnann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach at the request of Leopold I initially in 1695, but it wasn’t completed until the middle of the 18th century. I took a tour of the imperial rooms of the palace where Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth resided. Dazzling chandeliers spiral from the ceiling seemingly like a glorified octopus while there are portraits scattered throughout the 40 rooms including one of Marie Antoinette. The most historic room of the palace is the Great Gallery where receptions were held. President Kennedy and the Soviet leader Khrushchev met here in 1961.